“As a coalition led by Apple Inc., Google Inc., and Cisco Systems Inc presses for a tax holiday on more than $1 trillion in offshore profits, it is turning to a well-positioned lobbyist: Jeffrey Forbes, once chief of staff to Max Baucus, chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee,” Richard Rubin and Jesse Drucker report for Bloomberg.

“Data compiled by Bloomberg News show that Forbes is part of an army of more than 160 lobbyists, including at least 60 who once worked for a sitting member of the House or Senate, pushing for the repatriation holiday,” Rubin and Drucker report. “Their job is to persuade Congress to establish a tax break estimated to cost the U.S. government $78.7 billion over the next decade.”

“Though the studies found that money brought home in 2004 ended up benefiting a narrow set of shareholders, support is growing in Congress for the tax holiday as companies expand their roster of lobbyists,” Rubin and Drucker report. “One case they are making is that the potential flood of cash will boost the faltering U.S. economy. Advocates for the break say a repatriation holiday would bring more than $1 trillion to the U.S. now held overseas. ‘It would do much to regenerate the economy,’ said Robert Livingston, a former Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and speaker-designate who is now lobbying for Oracle Corp. ‘A total of $1.5 trillion from all affected U.S. companies would go a long way to pull us out of the doldrums.'”

Rubin and Drucker report, “The proposed break has gained momentum in recent months, with several prominent Democrats, including Senator Charles Schumer of New York, expressing a willingness to consider the tax holiday. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidates Michele Bachmann, a House member from Minnesota, and Texas Governor Rick Perry have called on Congress to let companies bring home offshore earnings at a reduced tax rate. The Obama administration has said it is opposed to a stand- alone tax holiday for repatriated profits, pointing to the 2004 experience.”

So, Gary, you’re prepared to pay double for your goods, just so some lard-ass gets off welfare and screws up an Apple made in the USA product. I’ll stick with the thin Chinese. Just joking’ Gary. But ?

In 2004, the U.S. unemployment rate was below 5% which means full employment.

In 2011, no such state exists, gullible hopenchange pawns. The Obama mistake has brought us the malaise of over 9% unemployed and well over 20% underemployed (those who have stopped looking for work or part-time workers who want full-time employment).

Obama is a fool to think that 2004 can predict what tax repatriation can do for the country that’s deeply mired in his malaise in 2011.

The ill-considered empty suit/empty promises experiment has failed miserably. The good news is that we’ll next have a Republican back in the White House to once again lead America to prosperity. Only a little over a year left of slogging through the malaise born of Obama/Senate Dems incompetence.

“Obama is a fool to think that 2004 can predict what tax repatriation can do for the country”, but you know, right? You also know with absolute certainty that a Republican in the White House make a big difference?

I am willing to bet that if you were knocked into a coma for 4 years and woke up in the middle of 2015, and went through life for a whole year with the only stipulation that nobody is allowed to tell you who is president, after one year I’d love to ask you “Well, you went to work for a year, drove your car all year, and shopped at the supermarket for a year, do we have a Republican or Democrat in the White House?” I bet you couldn’t tell the difference!

I wish all of you would stop acting like you know so much of what you are talking about and how a Republican/Democrat would make such a difference. If you didn’t know who was in the White House could you “feel” whether he was a Democrat or a Republican? Of course not, so stop acting like it really matters! You all talk big, but couldn’t tell the difference in a “Blind taste test” !

Dude, don’t you remember who was in the White House during the 8 years running up to the home mortgage system collapse? Just because someone has an elephant pin on his shirt doesn’t mean he won’t be a dips**t. It’s up to the electorate to pick someone who is up to the task. I personally don’t care what party the next president is from from as long as he (or she) can get the job done and doesn’t have some crazy, extreme political agenda (either left-wing or right-wing).

But we still wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Democrat or Republican unless they told us. That is the issue I am trying to point out. They are all the same. It is not the party it’s the person.

This person did “this” or “that”, and we won’t know until after the fact once it’s too late (for better or for worse). Party’s got nothing to do with it.

In fact we vote for “what they say”, but they are never even required to “do what they say”, so what exactly are we voting for anyway ?

You have President Clinton to thank for the very low unemployment rate President Bush inherited. Furthermore, the unemployment rate was at about 5% by the end of May 2008 when the economy began collapsing in on its self; banks failing, the economy loosing from 400-700k every month and the US car companies threatening liquidation by Christmas.

By the end of January 2009 the unemployment rate was at 7.8% ten days after Obama was sworn in as president. By the end of April 2009 the unemployment rate was about 8.9% almost were it is today.

You give the President too much credit/blame. Under Clinton outsourcing was non-existent, under Bush companies could fire employees quick enough. Under Obama, also a Democrat like Clinton, unemployment is high. Overall, the unemployment has nothing to do with Clinton, Bush, nor Obama. It has everything to do with Corporations wanting to make massive profits and it is of little concern to them whether they hire an American, Indian, Canadian, or Chinese to do it.

You could argue that employment has actually gone up, just not here. We have Corporate America to blame for the state of the economy here in the USA, I don’t see anything a Democrat, nor a Republican could have done about Corporate greed.

In fact, as a small business man, I could say that raising corporate tax would cause me to invest more. If the taxes on my profit were zero, why should I bother with risk, I have the money risk free. If you raise my taxes to 100% of whatever money I don’t invest, now I’ll invest every dime into something.

To me the whole debate about lower taxes for the wealthy to create jobs is stupid too. It is disconnected from reality!

Congress should grant the tax holiday the provision that any profits repatriated must be used to build corporate infrastructure and fund jobs in the USA. With 1 trillion dollars of corporate profits released into the US economy in the form of construction and jobs, the stimulus would exceed any government spending package thus far with zero net cost to US taxpayers. The increased tax revenues from such an economic stimulus would greatly exceed the $85 million in tax breaks corporations are asking for, plus we would avoid another deficit busting government stimulus package. This is a total win-win-win for corporations, the government and the American people. Any politician that does not support this is either an ideologue or is pandering to his/her party base.

This is ironic… Apple and Google’s love and support for Obama… falling all over him whenever they can… and now they want tax breaks from the very person that is trying to stick it to the greedy people/rich companies.

Apple and Google, please fall in line with Buffett, Turnner, Howard, Barr and many other flaming liberals that want to pay more taxes (or just their lip service)… What we really need is the Obama tax for all progressive liberals who supported him in the last several elections.

All you mindless people that are marching on banks… maybe you should be at Apple and Google’s head quarters. Are they not the real greedy rich companies?

I would support a tax holiday IF AND ONLY IF the money is used on Internal Research and Development (IR&D) that is spent 100% in the U.S. Any other use gets taxed. (Note, no spending the money subcontracting to research labs in the U.S. that subsequently subcontract some of that work to non U.S. organizations.) Every dollar down to the fourth or fith level of subcontract must be spent in the U.S. No exceptions.

I’m trying to figure out what bringing that money back to the US would do that would help the economy. And no trolls from either side please that post talking points. I just can’t see how companies currently running with a certain level of staffing are going to bring that money back in order to hire more people. It doesn’t make business sense.